2. Second Intrusion

Willow and Varhog awoke to Black Thunder's deep mental tones apologetically informing them, My son, Murtagh has been insistently calling you from the scrying mirror in my saddlebags. I cannot communicate with him but I hear him, so I finally decided to notify you.

Varhog muttered irritably, so Willow simply performed the spell that would transfer Murtagh's spell to the surface of the hot spring in front of them without moving from her warm location snuggled next to Varhog's side. She then heard Murtagh's voice. "Willow! Varhog!" he called in a teasing, clear tone. "Wake up you two love birds! Honeymoon's over! Time to get back to business."

Willow stirred under the blanket, smiling slightly. She looked toward the water with bleary eyes then glanced up at Varhog's face. She could tell he was awake, but he pretended he wasn't. She couldn't see Murtagh well in her position, so she reluctantly sat up, keeping the blanket around her. Varhog immediately copied her, surrounding her with his warm body. "I knew you were awake," Willow murmured.

"I wish I hadn't been awakened like this," Varhog returned, leaning his face against the back of her head.

"There we go," Murtagh encouraged. "I'm glad I found you sleeping and not otherwise engaged." He chuckled. "Though the alternative might have been interesting, to say the least."

Willow giggled. "To say the least," she agreed. "You'd probably also like to witness Varhog's amazing lovemaking abilities, just like Eragon. Where are you?"

"I'm in Eragon's hut," he said.

"And why are you scrying us at this lovely hour?" Willow wondered somewhat peevishly. "We'd prefer to be alone."

"Come now, sister," Murtagh chided playfully. "Don't you remember that I cut my honeymoon short so you and your dear ram wouldn't be delayed in enjoying the arrival of yours? I understand it has been most intense. Where are you, by the way?"

"At a hot spring in the mountains," she replied. "It's been nice respite when the snow gets too cold." She smiled as she looked at Murtagh.

"Do you really think it wise to disturb an Urgal ram on his honeymoon, Murtagh?" Varhog asked with mock threatening. "You know what I'm capable of."

Murtagh laughed good-naturedly. "Yes, I'm aware. It's a risk I was willing to take. Should I feel us in danger, I think Thorn would be able to get us far enough away before you could catch us, no matter how huge that black beast of yours is. In any case, we thought you might appreciate knowing that Hanin means to scry us later this morning, and we're also planning on contacting the other Riders back on the Isle. A lot of interest has happened while you've been on your honeymoon aside from what you had to endure. We're also going to discuss plans for visiting Carvahall and thought you'd want to be involved. Forgive us if we were mistaken. If you wish to be present, by all means come. If not, we understand. Stay in the snow next to your hot spring. But we'll have breakfast ready here."

Murtagh turned for a moment as someone—it sounded like Eragon—addressed him from one side. Then he looked back at Willow. "Eragon says he'd like to know how to get there. Apparently you stole his and Arya's idea. She wanted to be the next one to come up with a new and novel way of, ahem, doing what you've been doing." He acted like the discussion required some delicacy, though Willow could tell he was enjoying himself immensely and knew he truly didn't mind in the least.

Willow laughed. "Tell her we didn't mean to. It was rather spur of the moment. It seemed fitting to return here since it was here that my first allergic reaction occurred. Very well. For all that we'll return. Thanks to the aforementioned abilities of my dear ram, we had a long, incredibly enjoyable night. Has Myrin indicated that she's ready for visitors yet? Doesn't Nasuada want to hold the new baby at least once?"

"That she would," Murtagh agreed. "Perhaps you can stop by on your way here and check with Myrin. It may be that we decide not to leave for a few more days. Our main motivation was the storm and that it appears to be getting more serious."

Willow sighed theatrically. "Give us some time to get back and washed up. We've been doing a fair amount of rolling around in the dirt." She grinned impishly and winked, completely unfazed by her innuendo.

Murtagh laughed loudly. "I was surprised to hear what a brazen temptress you've turned out to be, sister, but I'm glad for Varhog's sake. He has loved you a long time, so it seems fitting he would end up with a passionate mate, Urgal ram that he is. We've enjoyed having our honeymoon in his village. Nasuada and I have an entirely new perspective of what marital love should be like."

Willow and Varhog also laughed, but then she demanded, "Now go away so we can get up and get dressed. Unless you wish to see your brazen younger sister in the nude." She made as if to stand, but Varhog held her down.

"Not a chance, Eartheyes," Varhog muttered. "That pleasure is for my eyes only."

But Murtagh heard. "That makes two this morning," he commented dryly. "My half-brother by birth and my brother by calling. Oh yes," he said at their confusion, "it has been our pleasure to intrude on two naked couples this morning. Makes me wish we had just stayed in bed so we could have been numbered among you. I understand, Varhog. I too would never allow another male the singular privilege of seeing Nasuada in her truest glory. Take your time then but not too much of it. The high queen awaits." And with that, Murtagh ended the spell.

Willow stretched, turning to look at Varhog with obvious disappointment. "Good thing we're creative," she said. "Now that we can do that without fear of negative repercussions, I hoped to have more time. We'll just have to make the most of our travels, if we continue them soon."

Varhog hopefully suggested, "We can be quick, if you want. Once more in the water before we leave?"

"How can I resist?" Willow laughed. "And we'll have the whole flight back to the hut and then while we wash up. With an Urgal ram as part of the equation, we need never fear an unnecessary delay." She hopped up and ran lightly along the rocks and boulders to her right before diving gracefully into the deepest part of the pool.

Varhog did the same in the other direction, waiting until Willow surfaced before jumping as high as he could and curling his huge body up into a ball, landing with an impressive splash that sent a huge wave of water right into her face.

Willow pounced on him as he came up, but it did nothing. Varhog simply trapped her in his arms and started kissing her fiercely. He pulled back enough to say with feigned sternness, "We need to be quick, remember? No time for fun."

"Oh right!" Willow agreed, playing along. "Well, I'm your willing captive." She wrapped herself around him in every way she could as they tangled together.

-:-:-

Back at the hut after an eventful flight, they forced themselves into the washbasin together, though it barely fit Varhog by himself. Willow scrubbed him up quickly with firm massaging motions, which he savored with a contented rumbling in his chest. "That reminds me of those wolves," she teased, and Varhog snapped at her in an alarmingly accurate imitation. Willow flinched back with a giggle.

"You're not the first to call me an animal," Varhog said. "To prove you're right . . ." He trailed off as he began washing her in return but with far more tickling than the job required.

Willow squirmed and laughed. "Varhog! Enough! Or I'll . . . I'll . . ."

"You'll what?" Varhog challenged. "You're at my mercy in close quarters, in case you've forgotten. It feels good to have some power after how helpless I felt yesterday."

"Mmm," Willow murmured mischievously. "Thanks for reminding me." She leaned forward and began kissing him desperately, infusing it with all the passion and longing she could. But no matter how they wriggled, they couldn't figure out a way to fit together in the washbasin. After several humorous minutes, they gave up. "We'll worry about that later," she promised. "Now won't you wash my hair?"

"With pleasure," Varhog replied and did so very carefully. They got out and quickly toweled off. Willow dried her hair with magic, and Varhog gently brushed it. Willow again watched his face in the mirror, noticing that he intentionally touched her back with his fingers, which made her shiver. She was happy to see that he looked happy.

When Varhog was done, Willow tried something she never had before. She grabbed a section of her hair, murmuring the last part of the spell Arya helped her come up with to curl Varhog's bristles under, which did the same to her hair. She repeated the spell with the rest of her hair until it fell in long, soft waves down her back.

"That looks pretty," Varhog said admiringly, running his fingers through the silky waves.

Willow beamed at him. "I love magic sometimes."

"Has your spell for my bristles continued satisfactorily?" Varhog wondered as he rubbed his hands down then up his chest, causing his pectoral and arm muscles to flex impressively.

"Are you doing that on purpose?" Willow complained.

"What?" Varhog asked in confusion.

"Making your huge muscles ripple in such a tempting way?"

Varhog looked down at himself in surprise. "I can't help it, Eartheyes. They're just a part of me. When I move, they flex. It's hard for me to remember how appealing they are to you."

"Well, just so you never wonder, I think your body and your muscles are amazing, and I love touching them." Willow ran her hands down his arms, letting them curve over each huge bulge and kissing his chest. "And the spell is working perfectly. I can still do this," she rubbed herself against him, "with no discomfort." She grinned as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Why, do you want me to change them back?"

"No," Varhog replied quickly. "Whatever it takes for you to keep doing that."

Willow laughed lightly. "It doesn't take much, does it? I can't seem to keep my hands off of you."

"I have no problem with that," Varhog reassured. "But we are supposed to be hurrying, aren't we?"

"Don't remind me," Willow griped. "Very well. Now that I look more presentable, I'll put some clothes on."

"But don't get too comfortable," Varhog playfully warned. Willow smiled breezily as she flitted gracefully to the bedroom. She didn't have much to choose from. All of her pants, coats, and undergarments were much the same.

"I never cared about seeming feminine before," Willow mourned. "Now that I do, I have nothing to wear that will help me to that end. I'll just have to be content with wearing something clean and warm at this point." After putting on some undergarments and an undershirt, she grabbed a warm long-sleeve shirt and the warmest coat and leggings she had. She followed them with thick socks and boots that reached her knees. Then she stood, pulling her hair free of the coat and looking at him expectantly. "Well?" she asked. "It's not often the female is ready before the male."

"No, it's not," Varhog agreed. "I had to watch that and memorize everything you just covered so I can fantasize about it for the next many hours."

"As if you don't have it memorized already, with how extensively you've groped every square inch of it," Willow observed wryly.

"True. But one can never be too careful," he returned with a grin, likewise dressing himself. They grabbed their cloaks as they headed out of the room.

"At least this will cover my hair and keep it looking nice," Willow commented. As they prepared to leave the hut, Willow glanced into the kitchen and noticed the loaves of bread they had prepared and left on the counter to rise. "We never baked the bread!" she exclaimed in amusement, walking over to check it. "I'm not sure there's much we can do to salvage this. We could bake it and have very hard sourdough bread, I suppose. Maybe that would go with some more soup. Well, it's remained sitting long enough. A few more hours won't hurt it." She grabbed some ready-to-eat food from the pile on the counter and returned to Varhog. "I'm counting on what Murtagh said about having breakfast ready there," she said, handing him some.

They donned their cloaks and headed outside, carefully closing the door behind them. They walked swiftly toward the village and arrived in about ten minutes, stopping first at Myrin's, where Varhog knocked softly. When no one answered, he opened the door and peered inside. The front room was empty, but muffled sounds carried down the hall from the bedroom. "I think they—Myrin and Tarhvek—are busy. No one's in the front room. The children must still be with their cousins. It seems to be a morning for interrupting couples making love, or at least wishing they were." He grinned. "We'll try back later. They can't keep at it all day. The baby will need to eat at some point. I suppose Tarhvek's enjoying that a great deal."

"Do you mean Myrin's milk?" Willow asked.

"Aye," Varhog chuckled. "I suppose she told you I nursed until I was six?" Willow nodded. "Well, it's how I got so strong, and I can still remember how it tastes. I'm excited for you to have our babies so I can taste it again, if I ever get a turn after that. I suppose with two, your breasts will be in high demand."

Willow laughed as they continued on their way, but before long, Myrintuk caught up to them. "Varhog!" she cried. Varhog turned toward his mother. "Son, are you well? I haven't seen you since Myrin's birth but then so briefly and we didn't get to speak. I was so worried about you and Willow that night you kicked down my door. Is everything better now?"

Varhog gave his mother an embrace. "Yes, mother, I'm well. So is Willow and so are the babies. I'm sorry to act as I did. I was beside myself with terror at what was happening with Willow. Thankfully, Arya knew precisely what she needed. We have been reunited, and all is as it should be."

Myrintuk sighed in relief. "I'm so glad to hear that! What an awful thing to happen on your first night together! Everything with that is also as it should be?"

Willow replied, "Yes, mother. It's perfect! Wonderful! I think I'm part Urgralgra for how wild I am. Varhog quite enjoys it though, don't you, Yelloweyes?"

"Most assuredly," Varhog agreed. "Myrin seems to have wasted no time. Will she be ready for visitors soon? We're going right now to discuss with the other Riders our travel plans from here, and all of the women want to see the baby, if possible."

"Myrin meant to welcome visitors this afternoon," Myrintuk said. "She and Tarhvek are deeply in love. It's gratifying to see them enjoy each other so much. And the rest of you. It reminds me of me and your sire." Her eyes looked sad and nostalgic. "It's so lonely without him, and that's only one of the reasons. Garzhvog and I have sometimes wondered if joining might not make the loneliness more bearable, since we both lost our mates to Galbatorix's treachery. But for so long he seemed like a brother. To have him as a mate just seems . . . strange. Perhaps in time."

Varhog regarded his mother tenderly, his eyes full of compassion. "You should, mother, if it would bring you happiness. No one deserves it more than you. Garzhvog looks like father, doesn't he?"

"Very much," Myrintuk confirmed. "And he's only a few years younger. About my own age actually. Just as tall. Just as strong . . ." She trailed off. "Perhaps it's best if I don't dwell on such things." She smiled wistfully. "We older Urgralgra still feel all the longing and passion you younger ones do. It seems only to deepen with time."

Varhog looked adoringly at Willow. "I have no difficulty imagining that," he said.

"Protect her, my son," Myrintuk entreated. "If you lose her, your heart will break and you'll never be whole again."

"Yes, mother. I know. I promise I will."

Myrintuk hugged him again. "I'll come find you when Myrin is ready. Will you be at Firesword's?"

"Aye," Varhog said, and they started walking again after Myrintuk turned to go.